Information
MCM 2008*
Resources
About 25:40
Donate
Sixteen-year-old Ellen Paddock of Lithia, Fl. and a whole army of her friends successfully organized a 5K run at Al Lopez Park in Tampa on May 31. The day was hot and sunny and runners not only enjoyed a beautiful run through the park, but were educated about the impact AIDS is having on children in South Africa. Ellen and her friends researched the issue thoroughly and made posters and other signs bringing the impact home. For instance, one poster read that the 1.2 million children in South Africa who have been orphaned by AIDS is equal to 17,143 U.S. public school busses filled with children.
Ellen and her friends secured food and water donations from Culligan waters, Einstein Bagel Bros, and Costco for the hot and thirsty runners, marked the route, supported the runners fully, and took care of every detail of putting together a big event. Raffle prizes from Fit2Run, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, and California Pizza Kitchen were handed out as well.
Upon embarking on this endeavor, she and her friends
formed a group called 
which stands for Saving AIDS Victims in Africa. They designed their own logo, as well.
Marie Haberl, Alison Webster, Conner Gibson, Jessica Harris, and Ellen designed the t-shirts printed especially for the run with a very cool design on the back of feet walking over the map of Africa superimposed with the South African flag. For a limited time, those t-shirts are available for sale for $15. Just e-mail us at 2540@cox.net and let us know how many you would like.
The $1,000 the run raised will go a long way towards 25:40’s special 2008 pediatric program, aimed at finding HIV+ children who live in the rural areas and are not being seen by a doctor. We estimate that there are 1,700 children in the Peddie District who need AIDS treatment immediately. In the rural areas of southern Africa. It is estimated that 40 percent of HIV-infected children die before they reach their first year of life, mainly in the first six months. Currently, 25:40 is training community and health workers in rural villages to identify families where children may be at risk of HIV/AIDS. We have purchased a vehicle that will take community workers and nurses to the outlying villages to find the children and bring them to a health care facility if necessary.
This $1,000 can train 11 village and health workers in finding the children. It can pay the salary of 15 village workers for a month to go door-to-door to find the children. It can pay for 5 month’s at a soup kitchen.
So thank you very much to S.A.V.A and all the participants of the 1st Annual S.A.V.A Fun Run!